Josh Metellus feels like he and his new teammates immediately connected. The Minnesota Vikings overhauled their defense after it fell apart last season. They traded up to draft Dallas Turner and added Andrew Van Ginkel, Jonathan Greenard, Blake Cashman, and Stephon Gilmore to a defense that finished 11th in DVOA but gave up 30 or more points in its final three games.
“For some reason, when they brought this group of guys in, in the offseason, we just jelled immediately,” said Metellus after Sunday’s 23-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
“It’s like they knew exactly what this team was built of, and they went and got the guys who fit the exact mold. All them guys over there that were in the purple for the first time, they just fit right in with the team, man.”
Brian Flores wrung what he could out of last year’s defense, blitzing like a maniac and stifling offenses, culminating in Minnesota’s shutout of the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 14. However, Zac Taylor and the Cincinnati Bengals cracked the code on his Bengal Hawk blitz a week later. The Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions (twice) put up 30 or more points on the Vikings to end the season.
In the offseason, the Vikings could revamp their defense because they had Sam Darnold on a one-year, $10 million contract. They still have a $28.5 million cap hit from the void years on Kirk Cousins’ previous deal, making him Minnesota’s most expensive player. However, by not extending Cousins, they added talent to Flores’ group.
“I think we’re special,” said Van Ginkel, upset that he dropped what could have been his second pick-six of the season against the Niners. “From front to back end, we’ve got guys all over the place that can make plays. We’ve got a Hall of Famer in the back. We just re-signed HP (Harrison Phillips) up front.”
Minnesota’s improvement in the secondary is the most surprising aspect of its defense. The cornerback room was a concern entering the season. Then Khyree Jackson died in a car accident, and Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL in training camp. Still, they had a stout safety group led by Harrison Smith and Camryn Bynum, which they supplemented by adding Gilmore late in camp.
The Vikings are also getting contributions from players who were on the roster last year and have improved. Ivan Pace became a starter as an undrafted free agent last year and has followed it up with a solid second season. Patrick Jones II has four sacks this season after having only four in the 42 games he played before this season.
“You’ve got to match the pass rush and the coverage,” said Jones, acknowledging that some of his sacks are coverage sacks. “That’s the whole thing in the NFL. It’s a rhythm-passing game. So, if you don’t have the coverage, you’re not going to get the sacks. The offense is so good. So, without the coverage, you’re not going to get no sacks.”
Cashman sits in the middle of the action as the linebacker who receives play calls from the sidelines. He’s in command of the defense, filling holes that opposing offensive lines create in the running game while rushing the passer or dropping back into coverage, depending on the play Flores calls. The former Eden Prairie and Gophers linebacker had 13 tackles and a quarterback hit against San Francisco.
“He’s one of the best in the league,” said Greenard, who played with Cashman in Houston. “I feel like he’s a field general. He keeps everybody calm. He knows the defense really well, gets us in the right position, keeps us calm.
“I’ve seen how loud it was out there. We’re still trying to get the call. Yet, [Cashman is] the only one that’s able to manage, you know, weather the storm and that aspect, get everybody on the same page.”
Greenard says that he saw everything come together when Minnesota traveled to Northeast Ohio for joint practices against the Cleveland Browns. The Vikings spent a week in Cleveland practicing against the Browns, giving them perspective on how they’d match up against another NFL offense.
“When we went to Cleveland [for practice], it was kind of like, okay, it’s kind of our first test…to see what we’ve got against a very good team,” said Greenard.
“And when we got out there to practice, some plays we were making everywhere, offense and defense, even special teams. Somebody would have a big play, other guys just couldn’t be blocked, other guys just couldn’t get off block. So we kind of realizing, ‘Hey, we might have something to work with.’”
Despite Minnesota’s offseason roster overhaul, Greenard and Metellus felt the team came together instantly. Metellus represents the old guard, drafted under Mike Zimmer’s regime and molded by Flores. Greenard joins the Vikings to take over for Danielle Hunter, who signed with the Houston Texans.
Fittingly, Greenard and Cashman will face Hunter and their former team on Sunday. They’ve surprised the league by routing the New York Giants in Week 1 and upsetting the Niners last week. On Sunday, they’ll have to contain C.J. Stroud and old friend Stefon Diggs in a test to see if they can keep things rolling during the most challenging part of their schedule.
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Publish date : 2024-09-17 06:30:00
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